Some patients have four legs

Courtesy Photo | Second Lts. Alanna White and Marco Saldana both assigned to Alpha Company, 228th Combat Support Hospital, 807th Medical Command get hands on IV training while practicing with a simulated animal. The simulation dog provides Soldiers a more realistic subject to practice invasive techniques that would hurt or discomfort a real animal.  

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES

04.23.2015

Courtesy Story

807th Medical Command (Deployment Support)

By Lt. Col. Jenny Lynn Griffin
807th Medical Command

SAN ANTONIO - Capts. Robert Miller and Amber Hampton, veterinarians assigned to the 994th Veterinary Detachment, located in Round Rock, Texas, trained members of the 228th Combat Support Hospital on how to treat military working dogs during battle assembly training held this March.

These sister units under the 807th Medical Command, separated by less than 100 miles, trained together to share lessons learned while deployed overseas.

“Treating and providing care to military service dogs is similar to treating human patients,” said Capt. Jared Carter, a nurse assigned to the 228th.

While deployed overseas with the 228th, Carter treated his first four-legged patient when he received a request to treat a German shepherd service dog with a paw abscess.

“The dog handler’s vet called us about the dog’s condition, so we knew to be prepared,’’ said Carter. “This dog was treated the exact same way that another Soldier would have been treated. He received a bed in the ER, was consciously sedated and received much of the same medications that a human patient would have. After sedation, his wound was irrigated and cleaned. He was then bandaged and released to the care of the dog handling team.’’

“As a medical community, we can’t answer what happens before patients show-up at the CSH, and dogs are our patients, but if a patient has a pulse, I have confidence that the outcome will be mostly positive than when the patient first arrived,’’ said Carter.

Carter, a former enlisted medic, explained that when animals came through his EMT door, the medical staff was always ready to provide exceptional, compassionate care.

“I was really impressed with what they did for the dogs. It was obvious to me that these IED detection dogs saved hundreds if not thousands of lives in the Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns,’’ he said.

A 68W Soldier since 2008, Cpl. Jason Moyer stated this type of one-on-one education provided a new and enjoyable experience for him. It was not only fun but he explained it was clearly meaningful as well. Moyer, the owner of two large dogs, said that caring for dogs and being a dog lover are two different things.

“This kind of training is not taught in AIT, so this instruction was really good for me personally. I would love to do this again.” he said. “And a longer block of instruction would also be helpful!”

Moyer is currently studying the prerequisites to enter nursing school. He hopes to attend the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio soon. “Well, that’s my goal,’’ he said smiling. “All my Army training will certainly help me with my college degree — especially this!’’ he said asking to sign-up for the next veterinary training class.

Staff Sgt. Patrick Braun, a Licensed Vocational Nurse (LVN) with 18-years of military service, who also earned a Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) when he served in the combat arms, agreed with Carter’s medical observations.

“When we were at WAREX last summer, we were challenged in our care of the military dogs” he said. “Through this experience, we learned how to stabilize them so they can get the proper follow-on care at the next level.”

“Handlers with dogs are family members. These dogs are not merely dogs. They are more,’’ said Braun who clarified that the training was much like 68W, the job number for an army healthcare specialist, “but for canines.”

Both Carter and Braun established that dogs are somewhat similar to humans on multiple levels. Dogs are triaged the same way Soldiers are treated. They have the same anatomy down to the number of ribs. Further placing chest tubes and 3-lead EKG placements are also very similar.

The training provided an invaluable experience for all clinical staff in their role in managing injured military working dogs.

• Date Taken: 04.23.2015
• Date Posted: 04.23.2015 15:36
• Story ID: 161018
• Location: SAN ANTONIO, TX, US